Staff Blog

When we were still in the Philippines, I always loved watching Auntie Febe in the Eicher kitchen making all kinds of foods. But this particular meal and this particular batch of pancit canton was extra special because it happened to be for the sweetest little lady's birthday party.

She watched as the aunties washed and cut the vegetables, cooked the meat, simmered the sauce....

and then went about the task of getting all those pancit noodles into that one pot. There are a LOT of noodles required to feed this big family.

Pancit canton is and will always be one of my favorite dishes from the Philippines. The noodles soak up all the flavor of the broth where the veggies and meat are first simmered. It's just plain old nooddle-y comfort food. Squeeze a little calamansi on top and you're good to go.

Delicious pancit, coming right up!

Eicher’s Pancit (also known as Bam-i) 

2 lbs. uncooked noodles – Auntie Febe used a combination of pancit and vermicelli
4 cups sliced mixed veggies: cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, and green onions
1 lb. lean pork, cut into very small pieces
½ cup oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 pork bouillon cube
6 cups water

1. Soak the vermicelli in water for about 5 minutes or until soft. Slice and chop the veggies.
2. Brown the pork in the oil with the soy sauce, garlic, and onion.
3. Add the water and bouillon cube to the pork and bring to a low simmer. Add the vegetables and cook for 5-10 minutes.
4. Add the uncooked pancit noodles and soaked vermicelli. Simmer over low heat until the noodles soak up all the broth.

You can buy pancit noodles at many Asian grocery stores.

The picture above looks seemingly harmless, doesn't it?

Well, beware!  If you are found at CSC with such an item in your possession it will be confiscated forthwith and you will have to submit to an inquiry.

:)

The "elastico game" was the trend of the moment.  Games tend to move in cycles here, you will learn why below.  The rules, as best as I understand them, is that you put a rubber band on the ground.  Then you put your hands together, your right thumb over your left thumb with your pointer and middle fingertips touching and you slap your hands on the ground just behind the rubber band.  The rubber band then jumps!  Of course, you want the rubber band to go far and if your rubber band goes the farthest, you win all of the rubber bands!

Can you imagine why this game is now outlawed?

Yep.  You guessed it.  For some reason, there were arguments over who actually won and whose rubber bands were whose.  Some kids had many, many, many and some had few.  It reached a point where the game seemed to involve more fighting than fun.

So, intervention was necessary.  The picture above is only a fraction of the stash collected! 

:)

It won't be long until there is a new game trending.  The creativity amongst our children is astounding!  Already I have seen a small group of kids throwing blades of grass over a roped off area of the yard, trying to be the one who threw the farthest.

They are getting wiser...it's got to be impossible to outlaw grass... 

It sure seems like we've said a lot of goodbyes lately. People come and go: adoptive parents, CSC kids, visitors, staff. And, of course, for each "goodbye" there is a corresponding "hello." But goodbyes can be hard when they involve people we love: family, friends, co-workers, children. Sometimes we can find comfort in knowing that we'll see them again, maybe even soon. But with some of those leaving, particularly children going for adoption, we do not have that assurance. But that is part of life at CSC. People leave. We can take heart in the words of the song we always sing when people are saying goodbye:

God will take care of you,

Through every day, o'er all the way.

He will take care of you,

God will take care of you.

God's rich blessings on all those who have taken a seat at the picnic table to hear the song and to receive the hugs from children, workers and staff as they prepare to leave CSC. We know its not an easy place to leave.

This week has barely begun, but already I have had a moment.  What I mean by moment is an experience that hits me wherein I understand why I have been called to serve at CSC and I feel immeasurably blessed to be serving at CSC.

In reality, these moments can be found wherever you look at CSC.  I don't say this to downgrade the significance or value of these moments, rather I say that because I feel like this place is special for that very reason.  Sometimes I think that CSC is in the palm of His hand.

The boy in the picture below is a special little guy.  He and his siblings have been at CSC for a bit over 2 years now.  They were admitted to CSC by police escort because their parents had so severely abused them.  The police were protecting them until other intervention was found.

This little guy is the youngest of the group and as he ages we get to know him a little bit more.  He is delayed in many ways.  He was over 1 year old when he came to CSC but he was not yet walking and didn't for quite some time after.  Socially he is also not on the same level as his peers.  He was not able to self-soothe when he arrived; whenever he was upset he would grab his own hair and pull it so hard.  Similarly, his response to others comforting him has been atypical.

However, recently, this little guy has changed so much.  He is AFFECTIONATE now!  I shout that because he greets me every morning I arrive to the shelter.  He runs over, puts his arms up and lets me hold him.  He really and truly wants it!  I did not believe I would see the day that he sought such attention.  And in the picture below you can see him reaching up to hold my hand. 

That is a BIG moment....

I paused when that happened and I pause again as I look at this picture and I am reminded once again of the good that is done here.

This little boy has so many people fighting for him to succeed---to overcome the pain and suffering he should never have had to experience.  And he is succeeding! 

And there are so many people that love him.  And he knows love now too!

Recently we have taken in several sibling groups to replace some of the children who have left for adoption. The decision-making process for these admissions is quite extensive, and involves lots of people. Our social workers handle the referrals and make recommendations on whether they feel the child meets our criteria for need. They gather collateral information, interview the people who made the referral and get an idea of what the preparation of birth documents might entail. A referral meeting is held with representatives from the medical, social work and child care teams. The child care team and counselors will observe and, if the child old enough, talk with the child. We try to find out the types of experiences that the child(ren) may have had and what they have been exposed to. This might involve several visits with the child.  If the child is school age one or more of our teachers will do an assessment to try and determine cognitive issues and where the child might fit in at our school. Each child undergoes a medical examination and a battery of tests before we make a decision about whether to admit the child.

I am always encouraged and delighted by the positive approach of our staff with all of our referrals. We really want to say yes to all of them. Our teachers are always excited to bring in new students. Our social workers make positive recommendations and are excited when we are able to admit a child or a sibling group. Though we know that there are some kids we just can't take in, we  consider their cases carefully, prayerfully and compassionately. We've got a great team of people here in Cebu!